PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — What’s the matter, Bunky? Feeling blue?

A little queasy, maybe? Achy?

A new study says Oregonians feel that way more than most Americans. But it also says they are healthier than most Americans.

The study, by the United Health Foundation and two other organizations, ranks health in Oregon at 19th in the nation, down a notch from last year but better than the state’s 34th place in 1990.

Oregon did well with its low infant mortality rate and low rate of cardiovascular deaths. It could do better in childhood immunization rates, ranked 48th, and in cancer deaths, ranked 32nd.

Minnesota ranked as the healthiest state for the fourth consecutive year, with Vermont second, followed by New Hampshire, Hawaii and Connecticut.

Oregon ranked 41st and 43rd, respectively, in the number of days people reported they couldn’t perform normal activities because of mental or physical problems.

Neither Dr. Mel Kohn, Oregon state epidemiologist, nor Bob Nikkel, assistant director for addictions and mental health with the Oregon Department of Human Services, could explain why.

The study shows that Oregonians who were surveyed reported 3.6 days in the previous month when poor mental health and four days when poor physical health limited their normal activities.

The information was gathered through an annual phone survey of 350,000 adults by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kohn said the report gives a too-rosy picture of Oregon’s health.

“A lot of what you have here (in the report) depends on the specific measures they’ve chosen,” he said. “While it’s true that we have a low rate of cardiovascular deaths, our rate of strokes is substantially higher than the U.S. average.”

While the study shows a low prevalence of smoking - 18.5 percent of the population - Kohn says that’s not the whole story.

Kohn said he prefers to use cigarette consumption figures rather than smoking prevalence data. Consumption, he said, can be measured more accurately.

“We had a little over a 1 percent increase in consumption between 2004 and 2005, while in the rest of the country it’s fallen 4 percent,” he said.

“We still have 18 Oregonians every day dying from tobacco use,” he said. “More than one in five Oregon deaths are tobacco-related.”

The report found that the nation’s health has essentially stagnated since 2000. The authors cited tobacco use, a relatively high infant mortality rate and obesity.

The report said people without health insurance, including 16 percent of Oregonians, add to the difficulty in preventing and treating diseases.

The authors said 35 countries have infant survival rates as good or better than the U.S., with its 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. Oregon’s rate is 5.6 infant deaths per 1,000 births, 12th in the nation.

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